General of the Infantry (Germany)

General of the Infantry (General der Infanterie) is a rank of general in the Imperial Army, Reichswehr or Wehrmacht - the second-highest regular rank. The same rank spread to the Imperial Russian Army (general ot infaterii Russian: генерал от инфантерии) and the Defence forces of Finland (Finnish: jalkaväenkenraali) between the world wars. The workers' and peasants' red army did not recognise the rank and neither did the Soviet army.

Cavalry officers of equivalent rank were called General of the cavalry, and artillery officers of equivalent rank General of the Artillery. The Wehrmacht also had General der Panzertruppe (tank troops), General der Gebirgstruppen (mountain troops), General der Fallschirmtruppen (parachute troops), and General der Nachrichtentruppen (communications troops). Today in the Bundeswehr, the rank of lieutenant general corresponds to the traditional rank of general of the infantry. There was no equivalent rank in the army of East Germany, where it was merged into that of Generaloberst.

  1. in the Bundeswehr, the position of an infantry officer responsible for certain questions of troop training and equipment, usually with the rank of Brigadegenerals. The position of general of the infantry is connected with that of commander of the infantry school. Corresponding service positions also exist for other branches of the army. Since in this usage it refers to a position not a rank, an Oberst is sometimes "General of" his respective type of troops. The form of address is usually Herr General and/or Herr Oberst; the form of address Herr General der Infanterie is unorthodox, since it does not refer to a rank.
Junior Rank
Generalleutnant
Rank
General of the Infantry
Senior Rank
Generaloberst

Contents

List of Officers who were Generals der Infanterie

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

W

X

Y

Z

See also

Source